


Sleight of Mind

by Crossovers_and_Randomness



Series: Beyond the Universe [2]
Category: Doctor Who (2005), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Gen, Minor Character Death, Multiverse, Revolutionary War, rey/oc - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:48:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 20,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24048448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crossovers_and_Randomness/pseuds/Crossovers_and_Randomness
Summary: The Doctor and Rey step out of the TARDIS and find themselves in colonial America, on the eve of the Boston Tea Party. But something strange lurks in the shadows, and newspapers send out eerie signals. Together with Tom Lancaster, a young revolutionary, they work to unearth a sinister plan that could change the course of history itself.
Series: Beyond the Universe [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1734793
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, here it is, the first chapter of the (not so) long awaited sequel to The Scavenger and the Dalek! And yes, if you’ve somehow stumble into this story without reading that one first, it is a sequel. While technically, yes, it does stand on its own, some of the context would make a bit more sense if you read The Scavenger and the Dalek first. (And no, this is not shameless self-advertising. Alright, maybe it is. A little bit. But I’m not admitting anything. ;D)

The first sound she heard was the clamor of a hundred people talking.

They stood in a small alleyway, the form of the TARDIS behind them. A street stretched away on both sides, and people milled about, talking, laughing, arguing. Rey just stood there for a moment, her hand pressed up against the brick wall, breathing in the air—air colder than she had ever felt. 

So many _people._

The bright colors of their clothes made her head swim, and the houses that lined the street were different from anything she had ever seen—they were not shacks, not made of rusty metal or torn cloths, but bricks, _stone._ She shot a glance at the Doctor, and a little, insistent smile tugged at her lips.

“Another universe.” A little, shaky giggle shot through her words. “I’m standing in another _universe_.” 

She let her hand drop to her side and looked at her feet. The street below them was paved with round stones, worn down from years of use.

Stones from beyond the edge of the universe.

“Where are we?” She backed away, and touched the TARDIS door. “It’s so…strange. I’ve never seen a city before.”

He stepped to her side, grinning. “From the looks of it, we’ve landed in the colonies, I’m guessing…sometime around the revolution.” He frowned, and tilted his head to the side. “That’s…unexpected.”

“Colonies? _Revolution_?”

“Ah…explain it to you later. Bit of a long story.” He raised an eyebrow, and held out a hand. “Shall we?”

A little laugh escaped, and then she was grinning. “Of course!”

Together they stepped out into the street, the little droid bumping along behind them. For a few steps, Rey watched as her feet landed on the smooth stones, and then her gaze scanned up, along the street, the people, so strangely dressed, the houses, poking their peaks up into a clear winter sky, a few wispy clouds on the horizon. A cold wind whipped down the street and tugged at her clothes. 

She shivered, and rubbed her hands together. Some sort of coat would have been nice.

A moment later, any lack of outerwear was forgotten as a warm, sweet smell drifted through the air. She took a deep breath, and a smile burst across her face. She started forward, tugging the Doctor behind her.

The door of a shop stood open, and she saw rolls of bread inside, and barrels of brightly colored candy. She closed her eyes and just stood there for a moment, breathing in the smell of baking bread.

Her eyes snapped open as she heard the Doctor’s voice beside her. 

“Excuse me—uh—kind sir,” he said. A young man, just passing by, had stopped, and tipped his hat politely at Rey. “We seem to have—lost our way….”

The man laughed. “Ah, ‘tis not an uncommon thing. Newbury street’s the place, and the Old South Meeting House just down the way.” He tipped his hat again. “And a fine day to you, good sir!”

“Ah, so we’re in Boston!” The Doctor nodded, and smiled at the young man. “Good day, sir.”

He shot a glance at Rey, and started across the street, his eyes fixed on an empty, dark building on the corner. She pulled her hand from his and crossed her arms.

“Where are we going, Doctor?”

“Ah…printer’s shop. They’ll have newspapers. Which also happen to have dates on them. Which means…we can find out what year it is.” He leaned closer, and raised an eyebrow. “I try not to walk up to people on the street and ask them what year it is. That’s a bit frowned upon in most civilizations.” He stopped, nudged the door open, and peeked in. “Ah, they’re not home. Good.” He grinned, and opened the door with a flourish. “Welcome, and behold the wonders of the revolutionary printing press!”

A strange smell greeted her as she stepped inside the shadowy building. Papers were piled everywhere, covered with writing she was surprised to find she could read. In the center of the room sat a large machine, all wheels and bars, and a stained apron hung over a chair. 

She stopped in the doorway and tensed. Tiny eyes stared at her from all corners of the room—no, they stared past her. It seemed, for a moment, that the room itself could see into her mind.

She shook herself, and the feeling fled. She stepped to the Doctor’s side, and stared over his shoulder at a newspaper he held in his hand.

“December 15, 1773.” He held up the newspaper. “Rey, look at this! We’ve landed the day before the Boston tea party!”

“What’s that?” She reached for the newspaper. “Boston tea part—”

She tensed, and clenched her fingers so hard around the paper that they punched holes through the sides. The words blurred, and as she stared at the paper in her hands, it seemed that she looked through the words and saw a single message printed again and again over the paper. An outside consciousness seemed to reach into her mind, probing at the corners of her thoughts. She squeezed her eyes shut, and pushed back. _Get out._ She focused all her will on a single point, the paper in her hands. _Get out of my mind._

“Rey.” 

Her eyes snapped open, and the newspaper fell to the floor. “What?”

“Rey?” He rested a hand on her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

She stepped back, and felt a thousand tiny threads tugging at her mind, a thousand tiny eyes staring into her soul. “That paper.” She edged toward the door. “There’s something wrong about it.”

He reached down to pick up the fallen newspaper. “What do you mean?”

“It’s like…” Her hand felt for the doorknob behind her, and her fingers closed around it. “It’s like it’s watching me.”

“How odd.” He reached into his pocket. “It seems like a normal…”

“May I kindly request that you leave?” The voice that spoke from the corner was anything but kind, and they turned as one to see the shadowy figure of a tall man standing against the far wall, his arms crossed. “Peasants are not welcome in my shop.”

Rey turned the doorknob, and the door fell open behind her. “Doctor,” she said. “I suggest we obey him.”

“Right.” He dropped the newspaper, and turned for the door. “And, for the record, sir,” he turned back, and raised an eyebrow, “I am not a peasant. Don’t know where you got the impression. I think I’m quite well dressed.”

He stepped out the door, and let it close behind him. Rey’s mind felt suddenly free, as if something had been pressing on it since she entered the shop, and she sighed and shook herself.

“Alright then,” she said, and edged away from the door. “There’s lots more to see. Right, Doctor?”

“Right!” He grinned, and took her hand. “Allons-y!”

They started off down the street, and the bustle of people filled her senses again. “So you said there was a revolution.” She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling. “Like a rebellion?”

“Yep! Well…there will be a revolution. Tenses, bit of a nuisance. Anyway, we’ve come in at the very beginning! In just one day, the people will wage their first act of resistance against—well long story.”

“Tell me.” She felt a little smile tugging at her lips. “I want to know.”

“Well, a few hundred years ago…alright, alright, I’ll start sooner. This country called Great Britain—not such a bad country as countries go, in fact I rather like it, but that’s not the point—decided to establish some colonies on this continent—that’s the one we’re standing on—called America. Well, cut to a few years ago, and Great Britain—not that I’m against them, mind you—decides they want more controls over these colonies than the colonies themselves are willing to accept. Most specifically, taxes. They’ve decided they want to up the tax on tea—horrible decision, really. Everyone likes tea! I like tea. Come to think of it, I would have sided with the colonists myself. Well, the colonists—the patriots, that is, that’s what they call themselves, the rebels do—tomorrow, they decide to storm the harbor, and—ooh, look at this!” He stopped before the doors of a tall building, its steeple silhouetted against the late afternoon sun. “This is the exact place! The Old South Meeting House! Tomorrow—”

“There was a rebellion in my universe.” She paused, and hesitated on the words. My universe. It sounded so strange. “Years ago. Some remnants of it still remain…” She disappeared around the corner of the meeting house, her head tilted upward. BB8 bumped against the Doctor’s ankles, and he looked down.

“Oh. Oooh. That’s not good.” He squatted at eye level with the droid. “Listen, BB8. I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry, but you’ve got to go back.”

Its head drooped, and it gave a pitiful beep.

He patted it with a little smile. “It’s not your fault,” he said. He lowered his voice. “It’s the people here. They’re not ready for you. They might think you’re some sort of witchcraft, and you can imagine the trouble that could get us into.” He gave the droid a little nudge. “Go on! Back to the TARDIS!”

The droid bumped sadly along the cobblestone street, its head drooping. The Doctor sighed, stood, and turned to Rey.

Rey was gone. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Introducing Thomas Lancaster: young colonial gentleman, passionate revolutionary…and very, very awkward with girls.

For a moment, he just stood at the street before him, eyes wide. “Rey! Rey! BB8, did you see—he’s gone. Of course he’s gone!” He raced around the corner of the meeting house and scanned the street in the flash of a second. “Rey!”

He skidded to a stop and leaned against the wall, his fists clenched. She was so new here! She could be lost. She could be in danger. And all because he’d just let her walk away! 

He winced, and took off down the street again, unaware of the many stares pointed in his direction. “Rey! Where are you? Rey!”

“Good sir! What is the manner of your urgency?” 

He skidded to a stop in front of a small house, breathing hard. A plump, middle-aged woman stood in the doorway, wiping her hands on her apron.

“Excuse me, ma’am, but have you seen a young woman around here? About twenty, dressed in—”

Rey appeared in the doorway, a shawl draped around her shoulders. She smiled. “Doctor!”

He felt the tension drain out of his body, and he his shoulders slumped and he sighed. “Rey. You’re safe.” He turned a piercing gaze to the woman. “And what—”

She crossed her arms. “I merely invited her in to warm herself by my fire. Do you take issue with that?”

“No, no, no! I only thought—well. She’s new here, see, and I didn’t want…” Rey fixed him with a sharp glare, and he dropped his eyes. “Can I join her by your fire?” he said in a small voice.

She gave a little _hmph._ “Now, I never said—”

Rey tapped her on the shoulder. “Ma’am. He’s my friend.”

She threw her hands in the air and turned to the door. “Oh, if I must! Come in, come in!” She stopped, turned, and wagged a finger in his face. “But one word of insult against my house or my guests—”

He cleared his throat. “Ahem. Point taken.”

The warm smell of fire and food cooking greeted them as they entered. The woman closed the door behind them, and pulled a chair to the hearth. “I suppose I should be introducing myself.” She motioned for the Doctor to sit. “I’m Martha Lancaster. And you are…?”

“I’m the Doctor, and this is—”

Rey shot him a sharp glance. “We’ve been introduced.”

He tilted his chair back on two legs and crossed his arms behind his head. “Ah, good! Now that we’re comfortable, what would you say to a good warm cup of t—er.” The chair wobbled, and plopped back down to the floor. “Coffee,” he said. “Coffee is good. I like coffee.”

Mrs. Lancaster shot him a pointed glance. “Would hot chocolate do? I’ve just finished a pot.”

“Ahem—yes. Hot chocolate will be wonderful.”

She nodded and bustled out of the room. Rey glanced after her and scooted her chair closer to the Doctor.

“Doctor,” she said in a little whisper, “what’s _hot chocolate_?”

He chuckled. “You’ll like it.”

“You’re being mysterious.”

“Oh, how do I explain it? It’s…hot chocolate.”

The woman returned, a cup in each hand and a dress draped over her arm. “Here you are! And Rey, dear, I’ve found you some proper clothes. They were mine once, and dear me, they haven’t fit me since I was a girl like you, so you’ll forgive the wrinkles. My bedroom is up the stairs and to the right.” She plopped the mass of fabric in Rey’s lap. “Go on!”

Rey stared at the full skirt and bright white apron that spilled over the edges of the chair. “I—” She glanced at the Doctor. Was that a _smirk_?

She glared at him, and gathered the pile of cloth in her arms. “I—thank you, ma’am.” She rose, and the fabric escaped her arms and trailed behind her. Her cheeks felt hot. “I’ll be—right back.”

The Doctor hid his grin behind the teacup and took a sip of hot chocolate as Rey made her way up the stairs. “That’s good hot chocolate,” he observed, and fell silent, the little smirk unable to hide itself. He nodded toward the stairs. “Ahem—Mrs. Lancaster. You might want to help her with that.”

“Oh, she can manage. Any proper, hardworking young woman must know how to dress herself without the help of a thousand maids, that’s what I’ve always said.” She plopped into the chair beside him and looked over the brim of her cup with twinkling eyes. “Now, Doctor. Tell me, what manner of stranger have I invited into my home?”

He leaned back, and crossed his feet by the fire. “Oh, she’s wonderful,” he said. “Brilliant girl. I would trust her with my life. Already have, in fact, and she’s quite proven herself.”

“Oh, it’s not the girl I was speaking of.” She raised an eyebrow. “Doctor. The man who keeps company with poor peasant girls and yet refuses to give them his coat, the man who cares not for the glances of others, the man who introduces himself with a name that is not a name. What sort of man are you, and what have you to do with her?”

“Ah, bit of a long story. You wouldn’t believe half of it if I decided to tell you that much.” A smirk tugged at his lips again, and he glanced up the stairs. “Really, Mrs. Lancaster. You might want to help her with that.”

“Oh, nonsense, I say! She’ll come down in a moment looking as if she’d been dressed by the queen’s maidens, mark my words. I rather think you’re underestimating this companion of yours.” She turned to the stairs. “Oh, Rey, dear, be sure to use my comb! Do do something more seemly with your hair!”

The doorknob rattled, and she jumped to her feet. “Ah, that’d be my Tom! Come in, come in, dear boy!” 

The door burst open and a young man entered, blowing on gloved hands, a newspaper tucked in his elbow. He stopped, and looked from Mrs. Lancaster to the Doctor and back to Mrs. Lancaster.

“Mother! You didn’t tell me we had guests.”

“Ah, you know me. Always the hospitable one.” She pulled another chair to the fire and reached to dust off his coat. “They appeared on my doorstep, lost, and how could I let them wander in the cold when there was a fire in my own hearth?”

“They?” He looked at the Doctor, and back to his mother. “Who—oh.” 

Rey appeared at the top of the steps, her hair failing to her shoulders in gentle waves, and her skirt bunched in her fists. She stopped, and looked between the Doctor, Tom, and Mrs. Lancaster. 

“H—hello.” She lifted her skirt and started down the steps. She met the Doctor’s gaze, and there was a question in her eyes. Her petticoat twisted around her ankles, and she caught herself on the banister.

The young man approached, holding out a hand. “Do you require help, miss?”

“No! I mean…no.” She stood straight and tried to walk without looking at her feet. “I’m fine.”

He gave her a friendly smile. “I’m Thomas Lancaster,” he said. “And you are…?”

“Rey.” She looked down just in time to see a bit of fabric catch under her foot. She reached for the banister, but her ankle twisted under her and she fell forward, her feet sliding down step after step, grasping wildly for something, anything to hold onto.

She looked up into a pair of twinkling hazel eyes. It took her a moment to realize that his arms were about her waist and—oh. 

He had _caught_ her.

She shook herself and stepped back. “Sorry,” she muttered. “Too much fabric. How do you _walk_ in these things?”

He tilted his head to the side. “What’s that?”

“Nothing.” She pushed past him and made her way to her chair by the fire, hoping her dress didn’t trail itself into the flame of its own accord. “Anyway. I’m Rey. I already said that, didn’t I?”

He grinned. “You can call me Tom,” he said, and she noticed uncomfortably that his eyes followed her as she made her way across the room. He rushed after her, and pulled up a chair. “Miss Rey! You need a—oh.” She settled herself into her chair and refused to look him in the eye. “Well. I suppose I needed a chair as well.” 

She nodded, and winced inwardly as he sat beside her. An awkward pause stretched out between them, and she was just considering whether she should get up and move, and risk falling into his arms again, or just sit there in painful silence, when the Doctor spoke.

“Oh, I’m the Doctor,” he said, and held out a hand. “A pleasure to meet you, Tom.”

“Ah—and you.” He gave the Doctor a hearty handshake and turned to Rey. “Miss Rey, you must forgive me, I have not greeted you as—as any young lady deserves to be greeted.” He reached for her hand and drew it gently to his lips. “It’s a pleasure to—”

His hat tumbled from his head and rolled toward the fire. His eyes widened, and he dropped her hand and dove for his hat. “Please forgive me, miss, for not removing my hat in the presence of a lady.” He held it over his heart and bowed. “It seems—it seems the good Lord has done it for me.”

A little smile twitched the corners of her lips, and she ducked her head. “There’s no need to apologize,” she said, unable to stop a little giggle from escaping. She put her hand over her mouth and looked away. 

He grinned and sat beside her again. “I’m glad you find me amusing, miss.” He leaned forward, and his eyes flashed. “I say, have you heard the crowd today? Everyone’s buzzing with talk of the meeting.”

The Doctor’s eyes flashed to Rey’s. “And what meeting would that be?”

Mrs. Lancaster bustled into the room again, wiping her hands on her apron. “Good heavens, Doctor! _The_ meeting! The one that’s been so talked about these last few days!”

“Oh—right. That meeting…the one about the…er…tea. That would be tomorrow morning.”

“That would be the one.” She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. “You don’t seem quite at ease, Doctor. I do hope I haven’t invited a loyalist into my home.”

He cleared his throat. “Ah…about that.” He took an uncomfortable sip of hot chocolate. “I stand neutral on the matter. Prefer not to get involved in politics myself. As for my friend, she’s—”

“I’m a patriot.” Rey set her cup down with a thump on the arm of her chair. “And there’s no need to speak for me.”

Tom grinned, and their eyes met. She smiled a little, and looked away.

The door flew open, and a man entered, his hat pulled low over his face and his coat buttoned up to the collar. The grin dropped from Tom’s face, and his fingers tightened around his cup. Mrs. Lancaster approached the man, and he unbuttoned his coat and shoved it into her arms. 

“Good evening, dear,” she said, and her voice was as chilly as a winter’s day.

He brushed past her and leaned to pick up the newspaper which had fallen at the foot of the stairs. “Thomas, I have told you before that you do not simply drop things on the floor when you enter your home,” he said.

Tom dropped his eyes. “Yes, father.”

He settled into a chair at the far end of the room and opened the newspaper with a snap. Something brushed at Rey’s mind, and she shivered and pulled away. And then it was gone, and Mr. Lancaster sat, the newspaper in front of his face. A heavy silence filled the room, growing until she thought it would burst at the windows. Mrs. Lancaster rose, and entered the kitchen. The kitchen door slammed behind her. Rey glanced between Tom and his father. Tom sat, his face a mask, his eyes both thoughtful and fiery. The Doctor tipped his chair onto two legs and then let it slam to the floor again. 

Mr. Lancaster dropped the first page of the newspaper to the floor and it fluttered across the room and landed at Rey’s feet. She reached forward to kick it away when she felt that familiar probing, searching force, pushing at her mind.

She took a deep breath, and forced herself to pick it up. She glanced at the Doctor, and their eyes met. She held up the newspaper. He nodded, and stood. 

Together, they went to the door and stepped out into the cold. Rey almost sighed with relief as the oppressive silence lifted, and the clear air filled her senses. The Doctor closed the door behind him, and leaned closer.

“What is it?”

“This paper…it’s the same. Like it’s trying to tell me something.”

He nodded, and slipped his glasses on. He pulled his sonic screwdriver from his pocket and scanned it over the paper.

He narrowed his eyes, and brought the paper closer to his face. “Okay, now _that’s_ odd,” he said. The wobble of the sonic screwdriver sounded again, and he drew it back and stared at it, one eyebrow raised. “It’s not…registering anything. This is a completely normal paper.”

Rey shook her head. “I felt it. Something’s watching me from inside that paper.”

He flipped a switch, and scanned the sonic screwdriver over the paper again. He brought it closer to his face, and stared at it for a moment. A grin spread over his face. “Oh yes! Now you’re getting it!”

She peered at the strange little device. “What? What is it?”

“Whatever is in this paper,” he said, “it wasn’t made by humans.” 


	3. Chapter 3

She backed away, her eyes fixed on the paper. “What is it then?” She took another step backward and the pressure on her mind began to release a bit. “And what is it doing?”

“That’s just it.” He turned the sonic screwdriver over in his fingers and squinted at it as if it hid some microscopic answer in its reading. “I don’t know! It’s as if it’s trying to hide.” He paced away from her, still staring at the newspaper. “What sort of technology can do that?” he said, as if to himself. He shoved his sonic screwdriver back into his pocket and turned to her. “We’re going to the printer’s shop.”

The door banged open behind them, and Rey whirled, resisting the urge to grab for her staff. 

Tom stood in the doorway. “I say, where have you gone? You’ve only just arrived!”

“Ah, Tom! Come along if you’d like. The more the merrier!” He stopped, and looked back. “Oh, and we’re going to the printer’s shop.”

“And which…which printer’s shop would that be?”

“Ah…the one on Newbury street.” He bounded across the lawn and onto the street. “Come along! Allons-y!”

“Doctor!” Tom grabbed him by the sleeve and pulled him to a stop. “With all due respect, sir, what is the manner of your haste? Is there an emergency?”

He grinned. “Nope, nothing like that! Just a mystery. And you know I can never resist a good mystery.”

“Actually, sir, I don’t know a thing about you.” Tom huffed and ran to keep up with the Doctor’s long strides. A little grin flashed across his face. “What manner of mystery have you found, sir?”

The Doctor tousled his hair with a grin. “Ah, now you’re getting it. Well, I’ve found trace amounts of alien technology in this…oh, seem to have dropped it. That paper of yours. And if I’ve learned anything from all my years of traveling, it’s that alien technology where it’s not supposed to be is never a good thing. And it’s 1773! You don’t even know aliens exist yet.”

“Alien?” He looked between the Doctor and Rey. “You mean, from another land?”

“Well…yeah. You could say that.” 

“But it’s only a newspaper. How can…”

“Ah, here we are!” The Doctor skidded to a stop in front of the darkened printer’s shop and nudged the door open with his toe. “Hello? Anyone home?” He paused, and let his voice echo into silence. “Ah, good. We’re alone.” 

Rey hesitated for a moment as the Doctor and Tom entered ahead of her, her hand resting on the doorframe. Shadows clung to the corners of the shop. The printing press stood in the center like the ghost of some ancient ruin, and the ink-stained apron still lay draped over a nearby chair. Every muscle in her body wanted to run, to flee from the thousands of outside forces that pressed against her mind. She stepped backward, and focused in on the Doctor as he flipped his sonic screwdriver from his pocket. The now-familiar blue glow filled the room as he paced from corner to corner. 

Tom stumbled backward, his eyes wide and his hand gripping for the doorframe. “Doctor?” His voice sounded a bit strangled. “What manner of device is that?”

“Oh, this?” He held up the little tool. “Sonic screwdriver. Handy little thing. Oh—I’m guessing it’s a bit strange to you. Right. It’s a thing of the fu—a faraway land. Alien, you might say.” His focus snapped back to the screwdriver. “Oh. Oooh. Now we’re getting something.” 

He turned to the two of them in the doorway. “I’m getting the same signal from this as I got from the paper. This shop’s soaked in it. Tom.” His attention snapped toward Tom, and the young man jumped back. “Where do you get your newspaper?”

“What? Oh…newspaper. John Harding’s shop on Summer Street.”

“Right. Take me there.”

Tom’s hand snapped to his forehead in a mock salute. “Yes, sir!” He whirled, and started out the door. 

He slowed to a walk as soon as he stepped out onto the street. The last orange of sunset stained the evening sky, and the blue-grey duskiness of twilight had settled over the world. He walked side by side with Rey as the Doctor walked behind, fingering his sonic screwdriver, his eyes vacant.

Tom glanced back at the Doctor, took a deep breath, and looked at Rey. “Who is he?” he blurted out. “The Doctor.”

“He’s…the Doctor.” Rey suddenly realized that she had only known this man for three days. “I don’t know, really.”

“What manner of man carries a light that can be lit without a match?” Tom glanced behind him at the wobbly blue glow of the sonic screwdriver. “And thinks that newspaper from another country is dangerous?”

“But it is. It’s more than dangerous, it’s…” She shivered. “It’s evil. I’ve felt it.”

He stopped, and stared at her. “Rey,” he said. “It’s a name I’ve not heard before. You’ve got a surname, haven’t you?”

She looked away. “Please don’t,” she said. “I’m no one—I’m Rey. Just Rey. It doesn’t matter.” 

“This faraway land he speaks of.” His voice wavered, and he glanced back at the Doctor. “Have you—have you seen it?”

“No. I’ve only known him—for a few days.” She ducked her head, and looked away. “He came from the stars, from beyond the edge of the universe, and landed on my sandy little planet.” She smiled a little. “And here I am.”

He stared at her, and for the first time, she dared to meet his gaze. “Planet? From the stars?” She drew away from the wonder and confusion in his voice. “To journey among the stars is but a dream. An impossible dream.”

She stopped. “You can’t leave the planet? You have no starships, no cruisers, no shuttles?”

“Leave the planet? You speak nonsense!” He shook his head as if to clear it of the strange notion. “Wonderful nonsense, but nonsense nonetheless!” A flush crept up his cheeks, and he looked away. “Wonderful nonsense indeed. Starships…oh!” He stopped. “Doctor! We have arrived.” 

The Doctor bounded to his side and scanned the sonic screwdriver over the lock. It clicked, and he pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Tom stared at the door for a moment, his mouth hanging slightly open. “It…you…”

Rey shook her head. “You’ll get used to it,” she said. “That thing does everything.”

“Doesn’t do wood,” the Doctor said over his shoulder, his eyes fixed on the device in his hand. “Sad deficiency, that is. It’d be a handy setting, wouldn’t it? Oh. Look at _that_.” He turned the front of the sonic screwdriver toward them as if he expected them to read it. “Same signal. Whatever this stuff is, it might be more widespread than we expect. That’s two shops out of…how many?” He paced across the shop, turning the sonic screwdriver over in his fingers. “So there must be some sort of…group. Some sort of guild of printers, and they’ve gotten a hold of alien technology. If we could just—”

“Doctor.” Tom shook himself, and stepped forward. “I think I’ve seen them. The printers, that is. And they’re…” He closed his eyes, and his fingers clenched around the hem of his coat. “They’re either…they’re either geniuses, or they’re…” His voice trailed off, and his next words sounded as if they had been drawn out with an effort. “Or they’re up to no good.” 


	4. Chapter 4

“Why do you say it like that?” The Doctor slipped his sonic screwdriver back into his pocket and turned to Tom, one eyebrow raised. “You said ‘they’re either geniuses or they’re up to no good’. Now, that strikes me as a very odd way to say something. Why did you say it like that?”

Tom shook his head. “I don’t know,” he said, and his voice was distant and confused. He managed a little smile and looked away. “My mother always did say I had a bit more imagination than was good for me. I only saw them once.” He narrowed his eyes and stared at nothing. “I was returning home as the sun was setting and the shadows of evening were just filling the streets. I was passing by a printing shop when I thought I saw…a shadow, or the like, the form of a man in the alley behind. I followed it, being filled with curiosity about the matter, and what I saw…” He shook his head. “It defies logic. Five men, printers all, were huddled in the alley, as if at a secret meeting or the like. When I saw them, I thought…it was as if I had found what I had searched for my entire life. I wanted to follow them, to stay with them.” He shook his head as if to clear it of the strange notion. “But as I stood there, watching in wonder, it occurred to me that such a feeling was illogical, and that their actions were mightily suspicious. I began to back away lest they see me and accuse me of spying, then they were gone.” He pressed his fingers against his temples and squeezed his eyes shut. “Simply…gone. I searched the alley and all areas surrounding it, but I could find no trace of them. It was as if they had been taken from this earth by some force beyond my understanding.” 

The Doctor just stared at him for a moment—or rather, he stared _past_ him. “Where did you see these printers?” he asked finally.

“James Henderson’s shop, on Water street, sir.”

The Doctor nodded. “Take me there.”

Tom grinned, and saluted. “Yes, sir!” He turned to the shop door, with Rey and the Doctor following, and threw it open. Rey skidded to a stop in the doorway, her eyes wide.

Snowflakes drifted down from the cloudy night sky, and a thin layer of white covered roofs and streets. A still, soft silence reigned. 

“It’s—snow,” she said, softly.

The Doctor turned, and smiled. “Yes, yes it is.”

“It’s so…quiet.” She stepped forward and turned her face to the sky as snowflakes landed on her cheeks with a thousand soft kisses. “Everything’s so quiet.”

She felt Tom step to her side, and tore her eyes from the thousands of white flakes that drifted towards her. He stood, his eyes shining softly in the yellow light of the streetlamp. She ducked her head and felt a sudden, hot flush creeping up her cheeks.

She took a step forward, watching as her foot left a print in the snow, and watching still as the edges softened, and the print filled again, leaving nothing but a little hollow to betray that she had stood there. She leaned down, and brushed her fingers along the top of the white carpet, and played with a bit of it in her fingers until it melted. She gazed off down the street, and watched as the snowflakes fell, and the streetlamps formed little pools of yellow light amid the soft sheet of falling white.

Unexpected tears stung her eyes. “It’s so beautiful.”

“Isn’t it though?” She turned to see the Doctor leaning against the brick wall of the printing shop, his arms crossed and a little half-smile curving around his lips. “I’ve seen planets and stars and galaxies that shine like a thousand suns, but…” He reached forward, and caught a snowflake on the tip of his finger. “I will always return to earth in the winter, just to see it snow.”

Tom turned to the Doctor and shook his head. “There you go again. Planets and stars and galaxies! No man alive can conceive of journeying among the stars. It is an impossibility!”

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. “Well, you’re right there. No one alive _right now._ ” He turned, and started off down the street. “Well, come on! We’ve got a mystery to solve!”

Tom just looked at him for a moment, and then started off through the snow. Rey lifted her skirts and followed him, and they just walked in silence for a moment, their footfalls muffled and the silence of the snow enveloping them. 

Tom shot her a glance, and she thought she saw a mischievous smirk. He leaned down, and gathered a pile of snow in his hands.

Before she could stop him, a snowball had smacked her in the back. She leaned down, gathered a snowball, whirled, and let it fly in a single swift motion. It smacked him in the head and his hat fell to the ground.

He ducked his head and laughed. “Good shot, Miss Rey.” He smirked, and his eyes twinkled. “This is war.”

A little smirk twitched at the corners of her lips, and she raised an eyebrow. 

“Challenge accepted,” she said, and slid around the corner of a nearby building.

She bent down, and gathered a pile of snow into her skirt, a persistent little smirk tugging at her lips. Perhaps these skirts were good for something after all.

A snowball smacked her in the back, and she whirled, and sent a mass of snow flying at him with a flick of her skirts. He ducked his head, and little bubbles of laughter burst out. 

“Oh, you’re good.”

Soon the sound of their laughter broke the muffled silence of the snow as they darted behind buildings and into alleys, and snowballs flew from unexpected places and missed shots splatted against brick walls. A snowball flew from behind a nearby lamppost and smacked Rey directly in the face.

She raised an eyebrow, and grinned. “Now _that,_ ” she said, “that is war.” She bent down, and gathered the biggest, most lethal snowball yet. He stepped from behind the lamppost, flushing slightly. 

“I do apologize, Miss Rey…I did not intend to…” He gestured to his face and looked away.

She stood, and wiped her face with her sleeve. She tilted her head to the side. “No offense taken…” she said, and there was a question in her voice. “I’m not hurt.”

He smiled, and ducked his head. “Well…thank you, Miss Rey.” He stepped to her side, and held out an arm. “Shall we?”

She just stood there for a moment, looking between his welcoming grin and his outstretched arm. She dropped her arm to her side and gave a barely perceptible shake of her head. Is this how young men and women walked in this universe? Arm and arm, as if they’d known each other for years? 

His smiled lowered a bit, and he dropped his eyes. For a moment, they walked in silence together. 

“If I may ask, Miss Rey,” he said finally, “how did you find your way to my home?”

She looked away. “Just Rey, please. I was…lost…just a little. Your mother is very kind.”

“So she invited you in.” He laughed. “Knowing my mother, I suppose she rather _ordered_ you to come in and warm yourself by her fire.”

She laughed. “She did.”

The smile dropped from his face, and he looked at the ground. “I do not believe you would have had such luck if my father had been home.” He sighed. “Oh, I do apologize. I should not speak ill of him. But he is…well, he is strict. And he…he sides with the loyalists, while my mother and I…” He shrugged. “Our evenings are often silent ones.”

“I’m sorry.” Rey looked away, and her voice was low. “I’m sure he…I’m sure he loves you. More than you think.”

“Sometimes I wonder.” The words were low, almost imperceptible. He shook himself. “Well, I should not speak so much of myself. Where do you come from, Mi—Rey? Your family?”

She stared at the ground. “I don’t remember my family,” she said.

“Oh.” He smiled a little, gentle smile. “I am truly sorry, Rey. And I am burdening you with tales of my own hardships.” He reached his hand for hers, and she let him touch it, just for a moment. “I do hope…” A flush rose in his cheeks, and he stammered out the words. “I do hope you’ll join us often for supper. Perhaps we…we can be…”

She shook her head, and looked away with a little smile. “I won’t be here for long,” she said. 

“You’ll be off to journey among the stars.” He shook his head. “You’re impossible. You and the Doctor. But yet...” He looked at her, his eyes shining. “I believe it. All of it.” He stopped, and looked up. “Oh! We have arrived! Doctor, we have—”

“Right ahead of you.” The Doctor appeared around a corner, and pressed the sonic screwdriver to the door. The lock clicked, and he pushed it open and stepped inside, the sonic screwdriver held upright, its blue glow filling the shadowy shop. “Same signal. That’s no surprise. It seems…oooh. Look at that.” He bounded off across the shop. “Something else. There’s something else here!” He skidded to a stop, in front of a cabinet, and scanned the screwdriver up and down. “Nothing here. Not in this—Tom! Rey! Come here!”

They were at his side in an instant, and nodded toward the cabinet. “We’ve got to move this. Whatever I’m getting, it’s behind this cabinet.” 

“Right.” Rey planted herself at the cabinet’s side, and shoved. It moved a bit, and she felt another pair of arms join her, and another. The cabinet’s feet scooted across the floor to reveal a doorknob.

“Oh yes!” the Doctor cried. With one last shove, the three of them pushed the cabinet away from the door and toward the middle of the shop. The Doctor edged the door open until it smacked into the back of the cabinet, and they squeezed through into a tiny room. The silhouette of a small cabinet sat at the back of the room, and a small window looked out into a shadowy alley. An inkwell sat at a little desk in the corner. 

“I’ve got it!” The Doctor dropped to his knees beside the cabinet, and moved the sonic screwdriver back and forth until it zeroed in on a small drawer near the ground, only visible by a tiny keyhole at the top. He pressed the small device to the hole, and the lock clicked and the door popped open. 

A strange sense of dread filled Rey as she approached the Doctor. What was so important that it must be hidden away in a tiny, nearly invisible drawer in the hidden back room of a printer’s shop? The Doctor pulled the drawer open, and inside sat a very small, very odd-looking gun. He pulled it out, stared at it for a moment, and scanned the sonic screwdriver over it. 

He jumped to his feet and pointed the gun at the inkwell, and pulled the trigger. The bottle of ink disappeared in a wisp of mist, which curled away into the air and dissipated.

The gun fell to the ground with a clatter, and the Doctor stepped back with a little catch of his breath. 

“That’s a vaporizer,” he said.

Tom backed away, his eyes fixed on the little gun. “Sir…what is a vaporizer?”

“Point that thing at a human and they’ll turn to mist in an instant.” He nudged it away from him with his foot as if it were tainted. “Whoever these printers are, they’re dangerous. Very dangerous.”

A prickle shot up Rey’s arm, and she tensed and turned to the window. “Doctor,” she hissed. “There’s someone out there.” 


	5. Chapter 5

“Get down.” She dropped below the line of the windowsill and motioned for the others to follow. “There’s someone out there, and he might be watching us.”

The Doctor and Tom dropped to a crouch beside her. “What did you see?” the Doctor hissed. 

“It was…a person. A man. Looked like a printer.” 

Tom peeked over the edge of the windowsill and dropped back down with a grimace. “That’s…that’s one of them,” he said. “One of the five.”

“Ah.” The Doctor rose and peered out the window. “There’s two of them now. Oh!” He slid back down the wall and glanced around the room, and his hand slipped into his pocket. “Well. Now that _is_ suspicious.”

Tom and Rey rose to the window and peered out. The shadowy form of a printer stood in the alley, and Rey had the sudden, eerie feeling that he was not a being of flesh and blood, but a being of swirling shadows and howling winds. Darkness settled over the alley again, and a brick wall filled her vision.

She blinked, and felt Tom slide down the wall beside her. “He’s gone.” She shook her head, blinked again, and tried to stare through the pressing darkness. “He’s just…gone.”

“Exactly.” The wobble of the sonic screwdriver came from behind her, and she turned to see the Doctor scanning it around the room, its blue light filling the corners for a moment. “Just disappeared. Just like…” He snapped. “That.” 

“That’s what I saw.” Tom squeezed his eyes shut and his fingers shook as he fumbled with the hem of his coat. “Just…gone.”

The Doctor slipped the sonic screwdriver back into his pocket and leaned closer, beckoning for the two of them to do the same. “Whatever they are, they’re not human,” he said in a low whisper. “Their human form is a trick, an illusion—quite clever, really. Almost had me fooled.” 

“Not…human?” Tom glanced at the window above his head, and back to the Doctor. “How…”

The Doctor put a finger to his lips. “Shh. They could have superhuman hearing for all we know. If that’s the case, I suppose they would have heard us already. In which case…”

Rey glanced around at the clinging shadows and shivered. “They could be here. If they’re invisible, they could have been here this whole time, watching us.” She drew back as if she could melt into the wall itself and pulled her knees up to her chest. Was this the presence she had felt, a thousand eyes, watching, boring into her mind?

The Doctor shook his head. “No,” he said. “Didn’t pick up any lifeforms in here. It seems our friends out there…” he nodded to the window, “are our only company. Unless…” He reached into his coat and pulled out a little, black wallet. “I’m getting something. Some kind of signal.” He flipped it open, and Rey leaned forward. Shapes and lines swirled across the paper in a wild frenzy, disappearing in a moment to be replaced by more swirling lines. She blinked, and shook her head. 

Those were _words_.

She glanced at Tom, who was shaking his head and rubbing his eyes. “What manner of trickery…”

“Oh, this?” He held up the little wallet. “Psychic paper. Displays whatever the user wants it to display.” He glanced out the window. “Someone around here is putting out some very strong mental signals.”

Rey stared at the swirling letters for a moment, trying to focus on the words before they disappeared. “What’s it saying?”

“It’s a conversation.” He slipped his glasses on and stared at the paper, a little grin spreading across his face. “They’re having a psychic conversation!”

Tom glanced at the paper. “So this paper,” he said, forming his words carefully, “allows us to simply…spy on their thoughts?”

The Doctor nodded. “Yep!”

Tom leaned forward, and his eyes flashed. A little smile tugged at his lips, and he raised an eyebrow. “What’s the report, Doctor?”

The Doctor grinned, and glanced back at the paper. “This is codename Doctor, reporting to Mr. Lancaster. ‘The nanotransmitters have done their job.’” His smile faded, and he stared at the paper. “Tomorrow. They’re saying something about tomorrow. What are they saying about tomorrow?”

“With all due respect, sir, you seem to be the only person here who can read it.”

Rey glanced at the paper, and realized as she watched the words swirl past that they entered her mind from two different sources—she read them from the paper, and—she shook her head. It was as if the _things_ outside the window were sending their thoughts directly into her mind.

Or rather, her mind was picking them up—like the psychic paper.

“No,” she said. “I can read it.” She narrowed her eyes, and focused her mind on the words, which echoed a bit as one source reached her mind before the other. “‘One last output, and the people will be ready. Has—can’t read that, some sort of foreign name—prepared the…ink?’” She blinked. “Ink? What’s he—”

The Doctor’s attention snapped to Tom. “Tom,” he said, slowly, quietly, as if a deduction was working itself out in his mind, “get me a bottle of ink.”

Tom nodded. “Yes, sir.” He shot a glance out the window, and slid along the wall. He slipped through the barely-open door, and disappeared around the corner of the cabinet. A moment later, he had returned, a bottle of ink in his hand. He dropped to a crouch by the Doctor and Rey and handed the bottle to the Doctor. Rey drew back from the sudden pressure that forced itself against her mind.

The Doctor popped the cork from the bottle, and dipped his finger into the ink. He brought it to his mouth and licked it, and Rey grimaced. 

He frowned a little. “Well, it _tastes_ normal. Nothing out of the ordinary there.” He drew his sonic screwdriver from his pocket and stuck its tip into the bottle. The blue light flashed, and he drew it back out. “Oh, _now_ we’re getting something. Look at this. Concentrated amounts of alien technology. So there’s something in this bottle.” Rey could see him fighting the urge to stand, and pace the room. “Nanotransmitters. Millions of tiny transmitters, mixed in with the ink.” He turned the sonic screwdriver over in his fingers. “Nanotransmitters.” He narrowed his eyes. “Printed onto the paper, for everyone to read.” He picked up the bottle of ink, and shoved it under Tom’s nose. Tom jumped back. “Tom,” he said. “What do you feel when you look at this ink?”

“N—nothing, sir.” He backed away. “It’s only ink.”

The Doctor moved the ink until it was in front of Rey. “And you?”

She shuddered and backed away. “Get that thing away from me.”

“Yes, but what do you _feel_?”

“Like it’s…like it’s trying to tell me something.”

“Like it’s trying to tell you something.” He sniffed the ink, and put it down. “Tom,” he said. “Am I correct in thinking that your father is a loyalist?”

Tom dropped his eyes, and nodded. “Yes.”

“Then what was he doing reading a patriot newspaper?”

Tom’s eyes widened, and he stared at the Doctor. “He was! I never—”

“Exactly. You never noticed. It’s because this ink is brainwashing you.” He almost jumped to his feet, but slid back down the wall and began to fiddle with his sonic screwdriver. “Nanotransmitters. Millions of tiny transmitters sending out millions of tiny messages to anyone close enough to receive them. That’s what you felt, Rey. Tom, that’s why your father was reading a patriot newspaper. I only have one question.” He looked between Rey and Tom. “What are the messages?”


	6. Chapter 6

The soft carpet of snow beneath their feet muffled their steps and shone silver in the light of the rising moon. The silence of the still-falling snow was broken only by their voices.

“So, Doctor, you’re telling me that they are creatures of another world?” Tom glanced behind him and fiddled with the hem of his coat. “And they were standing within mere feet of us?”

“Well…another world, yes. Another planet, technically. They’re aliens. Not human. I already said that, didn’t I?”

“So they…” his voice wavered, and he glanced behind him as if, even now, the shadowy forms of the otherworldly creatures might still be following them, “…they possess the ability to travel among the stars, cast the illusion of a human form onto our eyes, and send undetectable messages through the printed word?”

“Yep! Pretty much.”

He clenched his fists and kicked at the snow. “But that’s impossible. Utter nonsense. And yet…” He shook his head. “I witnessed it with my own eyes.” He smiled a little, and looked away. “I’m beginning to believe that, perhaps—perhaps the universe is bigger and more—more terrible, more…” He paused, and looked at Rey for along moment before continuing. “More wonderful than we can imagine.” He skidded to a stop and shook himself, as if to clear away the pensive cloud that had settled over him for a moment. He grinned again. “Well. We have arrived. My mother will have a scolding in store for me, I’m certain.” He leaned against the doorframe for a moment, and gazed off into the darkness. “She does worry.”

The Doctor patted him on the shoulder. “I’m sure she does.” He nudged him forward. “Well, go on. She’ll want to know you’re safe. We’ll just be popping off to the—”

“No, no! Stay!” His gaze lingered on Rey longer than she wanted it to, and she looked away, her cheeks hot. “Please. My mother will insist.” A little smirk played around his lips. “After she’s finished scolding me.”

The Doctor stopped. “Well….”

Rey tapped him on the arm, and drew back a little. How many years had it been since she had had the freedom to casually stop someone like that? Just…tap them on the arm, tell them to stop with a single touch?

She looked away. “Please,” she said softly. “Just…just for supper?”

“Oh, alright.” The Doctor sighed. “Just for supper, though.”

* * *

Mrs. Lancaster put her hands on her hips and met the Doctor’s gaze with determination. “You’re staying the night,” she said. “And no arguments. We’ve got rooms, and I’ll not have your young friend sleeping out in the cold again.” 

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. “Now, it’s not like—”

She wagged a finger in his face. “I said _no arguments._ ” She dusted her hands together and started for the kitchen. “Now that that’s settled, shall we be seated?” She stopped in the door to the kitchen and turned to the stairway. “Thomas, dear, supper’s ready!” Her words, though cordial, were cool. “Now.” She turned back to the three of them, who still stood by the door as if pressed up against it by the force of her presence. “Tom, you’ll be seated by Miss Rey tonight. I’m certain she’ll have no objections to that.” She smiled a little half-smile. “Do you, Rey, dear?”

Rey didn’t dare meet the woman’s eyes. “No, ma’am,” she said in a small voice. 

“Good. It’s settled then. Thomas! Where has that man gotten off to now?” She huffed, and turned to the kitchen. “Oh.” She turned back. “Tom, dear, do be certain to make the young lady comfortable.” She winked. “As I’ve a feeling we’ll be seeing more of her, yes?”

Tom flushed. “Mother!”

Mr. Lancaster appeared at the top of the stairs, the newspaper tucked under his arm. A hush fell over the room. “Martha, dear,” he said, and his voice was as icy as hers. “Do tell me you haven’t invited these strangers to stay the night.”

* * *

The light of her candle played along the walls as Rey tiptoed down the hallway, and she watched the flame in fascination as it flickered and danced. The shadow of an open door wavered ahead of her in the candlelight, and she stopped, and peered in.

The Doctor lay on the bed, his legs crossed and a paper open in front of his face. A soft blue light glowed from behind it.

She nudged the door open, and stepped inside. The paper fluttered to the floor and the Doctor looked up. “Ah. Couldn’t sleep?”

She nodded, and perched on the edge of the bed, gazing out the window into the darkness pierced only by a few bright stars. “All of this. This planet. This house.” She pressed her hand into the mattress and toyed with the thick bedcover. “This bed. Even the stars look…”

The Doctor smiled a knowing smile. “Different?”

“Yeah.” A little smile touched her lips, and gazed up at the ceiling without really seeing it. “It’s all so much more. So much more than I ever could have imagined. All those nights I looked up at the stars, I never thought…” A draft seeped in through the window, and the newspaper fluttered to her feet. She tensed, and scooted away. “Doctor.”

“Right.” He jumped to the floor, wadded it into a ball, and threw it as hard as he could at the door. It bounced, and rolled into the hallway. “Better?”

She sighed, and felt herself relax. “Much better. Thanks.”

He plopped back onto the bed and settled himself against the pillows. She felt his eyes on her and drew back. “You can feel it, then,” he said.

She nodded. “It’s like…I’m resisting it, but I can’t help it. It just…happens.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the strange little wallet he had called _psychic paper._ He flipped it open so it faced her. “What do you see, Rey?”

She squinted and stared at the paper until she thought she would bore a hole through it with her eyes. For a moment, it seemed something flickered across it, a message, a picture. But then it was gone, and the paper was blank again.

“Nothing,” she said.

“So that paper is _blank_?”

There was a question in her voice. “Yes…”

He flipped it closed with a giant grin. “Oh, I knew you were brilliant but I wasn’t counting on _this!_ ” He shoved the paper in her face and she jumped back. “Only a genius can see through the psychic paper! That means, Rey, that you have the mind of a genius.” 

She drew back, and twisted the bedcover between her fingers. “But I’m not. I’m nothing. I’m—just a scavenger.”

“Just a scavenger! Do you really believe that?”

She stared at the floor for a long moment, her fists clenching and unclenching. She was prepared to fight. She was prepared to think quickly, to outwit any opponent. She was prepared to cobble together anything she needed out of scraps.

But she wasn’t prepared for this—this strange new reality that somehow, she was talented in ways she had never known. She wasn’t prepared for the thought that she could be anything more than a scavenger.

She wasn’t prepared to be important.

She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to be. 

She stood abruptly and began to pace. “So why can’t you feel it?” she said. “You touch that newspaper like you don’t have a care in the world. Like it isn’t constantly sending messages into your mind, tugging at your thoughts and forcing them into a direction they don’t want to go.” 

He waved his hand in a motion of vague dismissal. “Those transmitters are tailor-built for human minds. Probably didn’t even get past the barrier.” 

“Right.” She stopped at the door, and pulled her shawl tighter about her shoulders. “We should go do something about it. The ink.”

“Right!” He jumped to his feet and slipped on his coat. “You can’t sleep, I can’t sleep, what’s the use in just sitting here…not sleeping? Come on, then! Allons-y!” He shoved open the door and stepped into the hallway. Rey followed him, kicking away the wadded-up paper with a shiver.

Their footsteps were loud in the shadowy silence of the kitchen. Rey glanced around and leaned closer. 

“So what’s your plan?” she hissed. “Just…search every printer’s shop until we’ve destroyed all the ink in the city?”

He shrugged. “That seems to be the plan, yes.” He pressed the sonic screwdriver against the lock, and pushed the door open. Cold air flooded the kitchen, and Rey shivered and pulled her shawl closer about her as she stepped outside.

Houses poked their peaks into the clear night sky, black outlines against the stars. Not a light burned in the windows of the nearby houses, and her breath was grey in the light of the moon. The universe spread out over their heads, clear and bright in the crisp winter’s night.

The door creaked open again, and a figure emerged behind them. The flickering flame of a candle illuminated Tom’s face as he stepped into their little circle. 

“Surely you’re not leaving?” he said.

The Doctor shook his head. “Nope! Not yet. We’re just…you know, stopping an alien invasion.” He grinned. “And what better time to do it than the middle of the night? Come with us if you’d like…the more the merrier!”

He shrugged. “Well…alright. I will.” He ducked his head, and Rey thought she saw a little smirk twitching around the corners of his lips. “I’ve a feeling you’ll need someone who knows the lay of the city. Am I right in assuming it will change in the future?”

The Doctor skidded to a stop and turned around. “What?”

“Well…” He took a deep breath, and the smirk was replaced by something more pensive. “I lay awake many hours this night, thinking of the many strange sights I have seen, and the strange devices you carry with you. And I could come to only one conclusion—you are a traveler in time as well as space. Your knowledge of these creatures and your passing remarks about the future of mankind have betrayed you, Doctor.” He managed a little smile. “It is a strange thought indeed, to journey through time. But it seems the only explanation.” He paused, and watched as his feet made prints in the snow. He clenched his fists, and looked away, and back, and toyed with the hem of his coat. He cleared his throat. “I…Doctor. I am aware that it could be…dangerous, to know one’s own future. But I must ask, for the sake of…of the cause my mother and I fight for….”

The Doctor shook his head. “I’m sorry, Tom. I’m so, so sorry. If you knew…”

He looked away, and nodded, almost imperceptibly. “I know,” he said. “But tell me this—whatever the outcome, is our cause remembered? Is the cause of freedom carried to our ancestors, our son’s sons and our grandson’s sons?” His voice caught, and fire flashed in his eyes. “For it is never a true defeat if the fire still burns in the hearts of the people.” 

The Doctor smiled, and shook his head. “Never lose that, Tom—that passion. Fight for your cause. And hundreds of years from now, thousands will still be inspired by your determination.” He patted him on the shoulder. “Always remember that, Tom. Always remember that you fight for a cause that will never die.”

Tom smiled, and ducked his head. “Thank you, Doctor.” His eyes flickered to Rey. “I will never forget you.”

“Ah, well.” The Doctor shoved his hands in his pockets and sauntered ahead. “Good boy.” He flipped his sonic screwdriver from his pocket and scanned it in a circle. “Ah! We’re here. Project printer’s shop a go!” He took off down the street, his sonic screwdriver pointed in front of him. 

Tom chuckled, and looked at Rey. “I’m beginning to like this friend of yours,” he said. He held out a gloved hand.

Rey hesitated a moment, looking between his gentle, inviting smile, and his outstretched hand. 

She laced her fingers together and continued walking. 

He dropped his hand with an awkward laugh and took off down the street after the Doctor. Rey was soon at his side, grateful to herself for deciding against putting on that awful dress again. They skidded to a stop in front of the shop. Its door stood open, and Rey saw through the gap that the Doctor stood in the middle of the shop, his glasses on, clutching something between his fingers. She looked at Tom, and together they stepped into the shop on silent feet.

The Doctor whirled to meet them. “They’re here!” he said. “There must be at _least_ five of them, all thinking furiously! Look at this.” He held up the psychic paper. A frenzy of letters swirled across it, hundreds of thoughts whirling through the air. Once again, Rey had the strange , echoey sensation of receiving the words from two different places—from the paper, and from the source itself. 

Tom narrowed his eyes at the paper. “With all due respect, sir, how can you read that?”

“Bit of a talent I’ve picked up over the years. Long story, don’t ask me to explain. Oooh, that’s not good. Not good at all.”

Rey squinted at the paper and tried to decipher firestorm of thoughts that pressed onto her mind. “What? What does it say?”

“Something about tomorrow. The meeting tomorrow. Tomorrow. Meeting. Thousands of people. Oh. Oooh.”

Tom glanced around. “What? What is it?”

“It says, ‘The charge is nearly complete.’”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I officially want Mrs. Lancaster as my mother.

“We’ve got to get of here. Now.” The Doctor tossed the sonic screwdriver, paper, and glasses into his pocket and dashed for the door. “They could be anywhere. They could be surrounding us right now. And from the strength of those signals, they might be.” He shoved the door open. “Go!”

“The ink!” Rey skidded to a stop in the doorway and looked back. “Shouldn’t we—”

“Right. Grab everything you can find, and go!” 

Her steps slowed as she approached the cabinet, and the sounds of the Doctor and Tom scurrying around the shop faded away as thousands of voices bombarded her mind. Her fingers shook as she opened the door, and everything in her resisted closing her hand around the bottle.

She took a deep breath and forced back the wave of repulsion that filled her. She forced her fingers to close around the bottle, and jumped back as if pushed by the force of the signals. 

She held the bottle at arm’s length and focused her eyes on the doorway. All she had to do was get out of the shop. She could dump it in the snow the minute she got out that door…

The bottle seemed to throb against her hand, sending one message shooting up her arm and into her mind. 

Her fingers released it, and it fell to the ground with a crash that seemed to echo through the entire city.

She clenched her fists and almost let out a little sob. She had given in! The ink had told her not to touch it, not to steal it. And she had let go! 

“Well, that’s one way to do it.” The Doctor’s voice cut through the fog like a knife, and her eyes snapped open and focused on him. “Bit conspicuous though. Run!”

She leaped over the spreading puddle of ink and was out the door and halfway down the nearest alley before she could take a breath. A crash echoed behind her, and she whirled to see at least five bottles crashing to the snow by the door of the shop. Relieved of his burden, Tom dashed down the alley and to her side. They glanced at each other, and their eyes met in a moment of silent assent. They flew down the alley and skidded around a corner, snow flying up in a white cloud behind them. 

A tall figure loomed up before them, and Tom let out a little cry and threw himself in front of Rey.

“Well, there’s no need for that!” The Doctor flicked his sonic screwdriver to life and illuminated his face with its blue light. “I’m not that dangerous!”

Tom looked away and managed a little laugh. “I apologize, sir.”

The Doctor placed his hands on their shoulders and leaned in close. “Listen. Here’s the plan. Whatever they’re doing, whatever they’re charging, it’s centered on the meeting house. Split up, meet by the meeting house, and we’ll go from there.”

Tom nodded, and snapped his hand to his forehead in a salute. “Yes, sir!”

The Doctor grinned. “Good boy. Now go!”

Rey felt Tom’s hand squeeze around hers, and its warmth flowed through her fingers. Their eyes met, and his hand lingered on hers for a moment longer.

“Your hands are cold,” he said softly.

She wiggled her fingers. “I’m fine,” she said.

He slipped his gloves off, and pressed them into her hands. “Take these,” he said. “You need them more than I do.” And then he was off down the alley, and disappearing into the darkness. She just stood there for a moment, her mouth opening and closing.

Finally, she clenched her hands around the gloves and made for the street. Whatever was pursuing her, it wouldn’t dare show itself on the main street, even if it was night. Anyone could be watching. 

She hoped.

She just sauntered down the street for a few moments, somehow not wanting to break the silence by running, or to disturb the snow with anything but small footprints. She wiggled her fingers, and glanced down at the gloves in her hand.

Maybe her hands _were_ cold.

She slipped on the gloves with stiff fingers. Warmth seeped through her frozen hands, and she clenched and unclenched them. 

She wished she could thank him. 

She sighed, and stared down the street ahead of her, dotted with the flickering light of a few still-burning streetlamps. The blue light of early morning was just peeking over the horizon, and turning the streets to a grey haze. When was the meeting? She sped up, suddenly not caring about disturbing the snow. She needed to get to the…

The meeting house.

Where was the meeting house?

“Wonderful,” she muttered, scowling at the dark form of a nearby house. “I’m lost. Doctor? D—Doct—oh, never mind. Map. I’ve got to—”

Oh, she wasn’t going to find a map anywhere around here. Finding a map would be harder than just wandering the city until something looked familiar. She sighed, and kicked at the snow.

She should have stayed with Tom.

She closed her eyes, and tried to remember the streets she had seen that morning. Oh, why did everything look so different at night? That shop. If she could just find that shop, the one that had smelled like baking bread—

A door creaked open, and she whirled to see a dark figure emerging from the door of a shop that looked—

That was it! That was the shop! She just needed to follow the street now, and she would—

“Looking for something?” The voice was eerily familiar.

The figure emerged into the morning light, and she looked straight into the eyes of the printer.

She ran. Her feet pounded against the ground and sent snow flying up in all directions around her. The cold air stung her throat and bit at her lungs. She didn’t dare look behind her. Was he there? Was he following? Had he recognized her? Oh, of course he had recognized her! She flew around a corner and skidded halfway down the alley. She was fairly sure she had no idea where she was, and she was also fairly sure that it didn’t matter now. She bent over, her breath coming in ragged gasps. Why was it so hard to run in the cold? 

She shot a glance behind her, and saw nothing. Not that that was any kind of indicator. He could—

She thought she saw a flash of light around the corner, and flew back down the alley and out into the street. A printer’s shop loomed in front of her, and she skidded to a stop, and looked this way and that. 

Slowly, she tiptoed toward the printer’s shop. She pressed her ear against the door, and searched in her mind for that horrible, familiar tug. 

Nothing.

She tugged at the doorknob, and to her surprise, it opened. She nudged the door open and stepped inside.

Still nothing.

She tiptoed to a newspaper and brought it close to her face.

Still nothing.

She sighed, and slumped back against the wall. This was a clean printer’s shop. She could hide here. 

A small sound echoed through the shop, and she stepped back. Maybe not. Working her way along the wall, she scanned the shop. The now-familiar yet still strange printing press stood in the center of the shop as usual, barely an outline in the spreading morning light. She narrowed her eyes and looked closer. Was that—

A dark figure rose from behind the printing press with a shout. She let out a little shriek and jumped backwards, grabbing for something, anything she could use as a weapon. Her hand closed around a drawer handle, and she yanked it out with a jerk. A thousand tiny pieces fell from the drawer and scattered to the ground, and she held the empty wooden drawer in front of her face. 

The figure approached.

She drew back the drawer. “I have a weapon,” she said, her voice shaking, “and I _will_ hit you over the head with it if I have to.”

“Please don’t.” She lowered the drawer, her eyes wide. Tom stood in the middle of the shop, staring at her with equally wide eyes. “Just…don’t. It’s me.” He stepped forward. “Oh thank goodness. I thought…”

“Yeah. Never mind that.” She stared at him. “How did you—”

He ducked his head, she thought she saw a little smirk on his face. “I—well, I picked the lock.” He lowered his voice until it was nearly imperceptible. “My mother taught me how.”

“Your mother—taught you—”

He laughed, and looked away. “She did. She has made certain that I’ve mastered every skill that might aid me in my future assistance to the cause…”

Rey giggled. “I’ll remember that.” She glanced at the door. “We should—”

“Indeed.” He held out a hand, and, almost without thinking, she slipped her hand into his. “Only one block more…”

“Block?”

He tilted his head to the side. “You don’t know—well, we’re very close. Just come on.” 

The minute they were out of the door, they were running down the street, hand in hand. Rey saw the tall steeple of the courthouse in front of her, poking over the tops of a few buildings. She looked at Tom, and they both grinned.

_We made it._

Something pressed itself onto her mind, a cloudlike consciousness that seemed to surround her in a bubble. She stopped, and the feeling of Tom tugging at her hand seemed to come from somewhere far away. 

“Tom,” she mouthed, and she wasn’t sure the words came out or not. “Something’s—wrong. Something’s very—run!” This time she heard herself, and she took off at a run down the nearest alley. She heard Tom’s footsteps at her heels and together they skidded around a corner—and straight into the form of a stranger, who was bending over a barrel.

Tom, Rey, the stranger, and the barrel all tumbled to the ground in a groaning, protesting pile. Rey wiggled herself free of the tangle of arms and legs and wood, and jumped to her feet.

She looked straight into the eyes of the Doctor.

“I had almost gotten it!” He held up something that looked like a strangely-shaped gun. “I had almost gotten it out, when you two had to run around the corner and come barreling into me like you were fleeing from the devil himself! Well, not the devil himself, that was another planet, but something close. Now I’m going to have to start over! You’ve probably broken it. Next time you…” His voice trailed off, and he stared at the thing in his hand. “Oh,” he said. “I got it.” A grin spread over his face. “I got it!” He turned it over in his hands and examined it. “Now what could you be?”

Tom stared at the Doctor. “Where did you get that?”

“Oh—in the barrel. This thing was mounted inside this barrel. Whatever it is, it’s—oh.” He stared at the sonic screwdriver, which he had retrieved from the ground after the collision, and was now scanning over the strange object. “Oooh. That’s bad. That’s very bad.”

Rey glanced between Tom and the Doctor. “What is it?”

“This is a vaporizer. And it’s a big one, too.” 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YESSSS THIS IS MY FAVORITE CHAPTER OF ANYTHING EVERRRRR. XD

He leaned in closer, gripping the vaporizer hard. “We’ve got to destroy them. Now. They said the charge was complete. That must mean some sort of battery. And that means…” He glanced around. “Well, it means they’re ready. And the meeting is in a few hours. That means…”

His chattering faded into the background as a cloudlike consciousness pressed itself onto Rey’s mind. She squeezed her eyes shut and pushed back with everything in her, pushed against the thing that wanted to swallow her, to engulf her in its endless malice. She opened her mouth to speak, and she thought some words came out, but they were lost in the swirling, pulsing vortex that surrounded her.

And then it was gone, pulling itself back like a sprung rubber band. She stumbled backward. A flash of light filled her eyes, and she heard a sound like that of a million particles pulling themselves inward and congealing. The shadowy figure of a man appeared, his shape forming itself and solidifying from the head down until he was simply a tall man with harsh, pointed features, and long grey hair pulled into a ponytail at his neck.

Her legs felt weak. She clenched her fists until her nails bit into her palm, and forced herself to stand straight and steady. 

White light flashed behind her, and she whirled to see another figure taking shape and solidifying. A vague, foglike cloud hovered before her vision, distorting everything around it, and exploded into a flash of light. She turned to see the Doctor and Tom at her side, gaping. Tom slipped his hand into hers, and she could feel it shaking.

Somehow, that was more comforting than anything else he could have possibly done.

Two more lights filled the alley, and five men surrounded them, tall, dark-eyed, and with nearly the same features. Their movements nearly synchronized, they approached, drawing the circle tighter and tighter.

One man, a bit taller than the rest and with features more defined, stepped forward. “Were you really so stupid as to think we haven’t heard every word you said?” His dark eyes were harsh, and Rey had the sudden feeling that they could see more than just her appearance. “We have followed you since you first entered our shop.”

Rey swallowed, and threw her shoulders back. “If you think we’re so stupid,” she said, “why didn’t you kill us the minute you saw us?”

“We were waiting.” His eyes rested on the Doctor. “We saw that another nonhuman had landed among the human race, and we knew from that moment that he must be our ally.” The Doctor crossed his arms. The air crackled between them. “Doctor.” The man stepped closer. “The last of the Time Lords, a wanderer running from his past. Why do you choose to spend your time among a race such as _this_?” He spat out the word like a curse. “Such little, simpleminded things, hurtling ever toward their own destruction.”

“Who are you?” The Doctor met the man’s dark gaze with an equally dark gaze. “And how do you know so much about me?”

Another man spoke, his steely grey eyes bored into the Doctor. “We are the geniuses of the universe. We know many things that mere mortals do not.”

The first man spoke again. “Don’t you see, Doctor? You could be so much more. You could be a ruler of worlds. Never forced to run like a dog with its tail between its legs.”

The Doctor shrugged. “Oh, but I like the running.” He gave a little half-smile. “Wouldn’t give it up for all the worlds you could give me.”

“You are nearly as stupid as the humans themselves.” He stepped closer, and his brows lowered over his dark eyes. “You could be respected, treated as the lord you are.” He tossed a derisive glance at Rey, and she forced herself to meet it with determination. “And you could keep your little human girl, if you must. Her mental capabilities are…above many humans.” The words seemed to stick in his throat, and he looked away as if he hated saying them. “She has resisted our transmitters. She could be…trained…to be like one of us.”

The Doctor reached forward, and poked the man in the nose. “I’d step back if I were you. Bit imposing, don’t you think? Not exactly the way to go about convincing someone to join you. Oh, and my ‘little human girl’s name is Rey, and she’s not mine. _And_ she can speak for herself.” He shot a little half-smile at Rey. “Oh, and about that. _Psychic transmitters?_ Really? You’re no better than sleight-of-hand magicians, playing tricks on people’s minds!”

The man stepped back, and rubbed his nose distastefully. “The humans would not listen,” he said. “We tried words. We tried speeches. But they would not believe that they needed us. So we were forced to use other methods.”

“Oooh, so that’s what you were doing with those! Conditioning people to look to you!” He raised an eyebrow. “Now, that’s genius. Wrong, but genius.”

“We do not need your verification.” He sneered down his nose at the Doctor. “We are fully aware that we are geniuses.”

The Doctor nudged the man out of the way and sauntered to the outside of the circle, his hands in his pockets. “Now, if you’re such _geniuses,_ I have one thing to ask of you. Why did you make your plan so dreadfully _blatant_?” He held up the vaporizer in his hand and shrugged. “Hiding vaporizers in barrels around the biggest meeting house in the city? Can you be any more obvious? The people will look to you in the wake of the tragedy, and…ooh, I’m right, aren’t I? Considering those aren’t real human faces, they’re really quite easy to read. And you know what you just told me? That I’m right. The people will turn to you in the wake of the huge, unexplainable tragedy that is the sudden disappearance of thousands of people. And the biggest meeting in the history of America is coming up tomorrow!” He leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms. “I’ve only got one question. Why Earth?”

“We wanted nothing to do with Earth.” The man sniffed and looked around with a sneer. “Dirty, imbecile-infested scum that it is. We wanted to leave the moment we exited our fallen ship and smelled the stench of humanity.”

A little smirk twitched around the corners of the Doctor’s mouth. “So why didn’t you? If you’re such geniuses, why didn’t you repair your ship and get off?”

“Our ship was ruined.” He spoke as if talking to a little child. “And, backwards little planet that this is, they didn’t have the technology to repair it. And so we stayed, amused and reviled by their ignorant ways until we began to pity them.” He sighed a deep sigh. “We saw their utter stupidity, and we knew that they must be helped. But they would not listen.” He grimaced. “And so we were forced to take their form, disgusting forms of flesh and blood, and do their work until the time came.”

“And that’s what you call _helping_?” Gone was the casual smirk, and the Doctor’s eyes were dark. “Killing thousands in a single sweep?”

“They are disposable!” He seemed to tower over the Doctor, and for a moment it seemed his form flickered into nothingness. “They are nothing but little ants, to be squashed for the continuance of their race! One day they will thank us.”

“I can get you off this planet.” The Doctor stepped forward, almost pleading. “I’ve got a ship. I can take you home.”

“No.” He sneered. “We pity the humans.”

“Oh, you don’t pity them!” He spat out the words as if they were a curse. “You just want glory, and you can’t get that where everyone is just as smart as you!” He flipped his sonic screwdriver from his pocket, and scanned it around in a circle. “There. Your vaporizers are dead.” He tossed the vaporizer over his shoulder and it bounced along the cobblestones behind him, and rolled into a dark corner. He turned to Rey and Tom, and his face was hard. “Go.”

The man whipped his vaporizer out and pointed it at the Doctor. The Doctor flipped his sonic screwdriver in the air with a little smirk, and the man pulled the trigger. The screwdriver disappeared in a little wisp of smoke.

The Doctor’s eyes widened, and he stared down at his empty hand.

“Doctor. Always the clown, always the bluffer.”

“You vaporized my screwdriver!” He looked at his hand, and back to the men. “That was my screwdriver! And you vaporized it!” He raised an eyebrow. “No one vaporizes my screwdriver.” He shot a glance at Rey and Tom and mouthed something that looked like _run._ “No one!”

Rey darted forward headfirst under the nearest man’s arm. Tom’s hand shot forward, and he grabbed another man’s wrist, and twisted it behind him until he dropped his gun. 

“Not so immortal in these bodies, are you?” growled Tom. 

And they ran. They took off down the alley and skidded around corner after corner until the meeting house was nearly three houses away. They skidded to a stop, and the Doctor pulled them into a huddle.

“Listen,” he hissed, “we’ve got to find all of the vaporizers. _All of them._ Split up, look for barrels. Go!”

Tom clenched and unclenched his fists, and steadied himself against the wall. “Doctor…” His voice was shaky. “What I did back there…it was hard. Too hard. I wanted to go with them. I wanted to follow them. And I almost did!”

“Ah, that’s just the nanotransmitters. You’ve read that newspaper every day, and they’d nearly conditioned you. But you resisted them! You’re standing right here with us, ready to help foil their plan.” He ruffled his hair, and smiled. “Someday you’re going to make a wonderful soldier.”

Tom ducked his head. “I only hope I can endeavor to deserve that complement, sir.”

The Doctor glanced down the alley, and the smile dropped from his face. “Split up,” he said. “They’ve shed their human forms, and they’re faster now.” He nudged Tom and Rey on the shoulders. “Go!”

Tom shot a glance at Rey, and they started off down the alley in opposite directions. Her footsteps pounded against the ground and echoed off the walls, and the cold air tore at her lungs. Oh, why couldn’t she be _quieter_? A wall rose up before her, and she skidded to a stop and whirled to see the open street in front of her, the meeting house rising into the morning sky a few houses away.

She dashed out into street, scanning for barrels as she ran. A shadow moved behind the meeting house, and she jumped back. She skidded to a stop, caught herself against the door of the meeting house, and groped for the doorknob.

It was open. 

She nearly fell backwards with relief. A figure darted out of an alley just across the street, and their eyes met.

“Oh, thank goodness!” cried Tom. “I’ve found—”

She put her finger to her lips, and nudged the door open a bit more. Another shadow flickered before her vision, and she motioned with a quick jerk. He flew across the street and grabbed her about the waist, pulling her behind the door. Rey shoved the door closed behind them, and leaned against the wall, her fists clenched. 

“We’re surrounded,” she said. “They know we’re here.”

“I don’t believe they saw you.” He rose, and peered out a crack in the door. “They were just taking their forms, and their eyes were fixed on me.”

“But we’re trapped here,” she said. “If either of us goes out that door, we’re dead.” 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS ALSO MY FAVORITE CHAPTER but for very different reasons. *Evil author laugh.*

She dropped to the ground, and Tom followed her. “So we wait them out,” she hissed. “They’ve got to leave sometime.”

He shook his head. “No. They saw me enter. They’re intelligent beings…they won’t just let me escape.” He glanced at the door. “They could even now be preparing to enter.” He grasped her hand. “Listen to me, Rey. You’re going to journey among the stars with the Doctor. You’re going to have a wonderful…” His voice caught, and he looked away. When he looked back, his face was set. “Goodbye, Rey. I hope…”

She stared at him. “What are you doing?”

He just sat there for a moment, his hand squeezed around hers as if unwilling to let go. Finally, he drew her hand to his lips and kissed it. 

“And that’s a proper farewell, that is.” His words sounded choked. “Keep my gloves. Remember me.” The doorknob rattled and he managed a little grin. “I locked it.” His voice was wobbly. “We’ve got a minute.” It rattled again, and he leaned closer. His words tumbled over each other as he spoke. “Listen, you need to remember this. The vaporizers...” A shout echoed along the street outside. “The vaporizer. The one the Doctor…” 

The door shook, and the sound of a key turning in the lock echoed through the room. “Remember it,” he hissed. He jumped to his feet, and she was at his side in a moment. He shook his head. “No. Rey. No. They don’t know you’re in here…”

He started toward the door, and turned back. He approached her again, nearly running. He came to a stop in front of her, so close she could feel his body heat. He placed a hand under her chin and raised her face to his.

And he kissed her.

A shock like something electric ran through her. She tensed, and then felt herself suddenly relax. His hand slid around her waist and he drew her closer, closer….

He pulled back with a gasp and a flush. Their eyes met, and a moment they just stared at each other. She didn’t know whose cheeks were redder, his or hers. 

“Tom…”

He broke the gaze and looked at the door. “Get down,” he hissed, and she dropped, and rolled behind a chair, holding her breath. He ran for the door and threw it open. He dashed out into the street and slammed it behind him. Rey jumped to her feet and flew to the window.

He dashed along the street, glancing behind him every few seconds. A man appeared around the front of the building, a vaporizer held in front of him. She heard a shout, and saw Tom turn, and shout back. The world slowed to a crawl as the man’s finger closed on the trigger. A cloud of something nearly invisible shot from the barrel of the gun, and the air wobbled and wavered around it. Tom stumbled forward, struggling for breath.

And then he was gone. A cloud of mist rose from the street and swirled away into the air, and his hat tumbled to the ground where he had stood. Little wisps of mist curled around its edges. 

Her hand flew to her mouth and she fell against the window. Her throat constricted. She dropped to the ground and shook her head. No. No. No. He couldn’t just be gone. No. No. No. She pressed her fingers to her temples and squeezed her eyes shut. 

No.

A shout echoed down the street outside, and she snapped back to reality, all senses on high alert. She could cry later. She rose slowly, and peered out the window. A large group of people walked along the street, and the man and his vaporizer seemed to have disappeared. A sudden thought struck her.

_They’re coming here._

She ducked below the window again. What time had the Doctor said the meeting would start?

It’s not like she could read a clock anyway. But judging from the position of the sun, the morning was well on its way. The meeting started in the morning, she knew that much.

She looked out the window again. The people were closer now. She edged along the wall and found the doorknob with her fingers, and turned it. It creaked, and she froze.

The noise of the people grew closer, and she edged the door open. She glanced out the crack, and saw that they were approaching at an alarming rate. What would they think if they found her here? Would they call her a thief? A spy? Would they call the police?

She edged the door open wider, and slipped out into the open. She took a few long steps out into the road and held her shoulders high as she sauntered along, not looking behind her. Judging from their chatter, the people hadn’t seen her. She resisted the urge to run. Where was the Doctor?

A few more people approached, talking excitedly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a rather distinguished looking man striding down the street behind her, toward the meeting house doors. 

She walked faster.

She slipped into the nearest alley and let herself collapse against a wall. Her mind wandered across everything that had happened that day, and froze when Tom—

No.

No.

She clenched her fists and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the image. And those people…they had just…trampled over his hat! She wanted to scream at them. She wanted to run back out into that street, and scream at them! She wanted to—

“Finally! I was getting worried!”

She started, and her eyes popped open. A figure stood in front of her, his features lost in the shadow of a nearby building. She edged along the wall and willed herself not to scream.

“Rey! It’s me!”

Her eyes focused on the Doctor’s face, and she fell back against the wall. “Oh thank goodness.” At that moment, she could have fallen into his arms. “Thank goodness.” Her voice was weak.

“Alright then! I’ve tracked the barrels down—there’s seven of them, not counting the one I disabled earlier. Oh, and another thing. There’s no big generator or anything that we can shut down—there’s always a big generator, so that’s a first for me. They all have remote controls to set off the vaporizers. Remote controls! I’ve got to hand it to them for that. Really quite smart, if you think about it. Wouldn’t want to have a big generator that just anyone could shut down. So that option’s out unless we want to just go up to them and steal their remote controls. Which generally seems like a bad plan. So we’re going to have to target each vaporizer individually. Bit of a nuisance, but it can be done. Come on, then! Allons-y!” He paused, and looked around. “Wait, where’s Tom?”

She looked away, and her voice was low. “He kissed me.” She clenched her fists and took a long, wavering breath. “He _kissed_ me.” 

“Rey?” She could feel his eyes searching her face, and she drew back from his piercing gaze. “Rey? Where’s Tom?”

“We were trapped. In the meeting house.” She swallowed, and forced the tears from her voice. “He—he kissed me. And he—he was trying to tell me something. But he never did. And then he kissed me, and he told me to get down. He ran out the door, and…” Her voice trailed off. “Come on,” she said brusquely, getting to her feet. “Come on. We’ve only got a little while, haven’t we?”

“Rey.” The Doctor put his hands on her shoulders and forced her to look at him. “What happened?”

“They vaporized him, alright?” The words grated over her tongue like sandpaper. “He just went up in a cloud of smoke. Gone.” She turned, and marched down the alley. “Come on. The people are starting to arrive.”

“I’m sorry, Rey.” He caught her hand, and she stopped. “I’m so, so sorry.”

“Yeah.” She didn’t dare meet his gaze. “Thanks.” She pulled her hand from his and started off down the alley again. “We’ve got to go.”

“Right.” He caught up to her, and she saw that his eyes were dark. He shoved his hands in his pockets and marched ahead of her. After a moment, they emerged into the street, and saw that a large crowd of people had already gathered. The chatter of a thousand voices filled her ears, and for a moment, she was glad of it.

“Right here.” He kicked at a barrel, and the lid flew off. He reached inside, and tugged at the vaporizer. “Can’t get it out. Sonic screwdriver would be nice.” He glanced at the still-gathering crowd, and together they retreated back into the alley. 

“So what do we do?” she said.

He slumped back against the wall with a sigh. “No idea.” He raised an eyebrow, and reached into his pocket. He pulled out the psychic paper, and stared at it. “Oh, that’s bad.” 

She glanced at the paper. “What’s it saying?”

“‘The last battery has been placed. In fifteen minutes we detonate.’” 


	10. Chapter 10

The Doctor slumped back against the wall and squeezed his eyes shut. “Think,” he muttered. “ _Think.”_

“We’ve got fifteen minutes.” Rey glanced around, and leaned closer. “Where are they? The vaporizers.”

He motioned vaguely down the street. “One down there, another about a house down, a few around behind the meeting house…all very strategically placed, all hidden in barrels. Why?”

“I just want to…see them. There’s got to be something we can do.”

“Right.” He started toward the street, and skidded to a stop. Hundreds—no, thousands—of people milled around, all talking excitedly. “On second thought…let’s go around the back way.” 

The noise of the crowd faded as they turned a corner and made their way down a back alley. It grew louder again as they approached the main street, and the Doctor skidded to a stop in front of a barrel. “Here’s one.” He pried at the lid. “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me. It must have some sort of self-locking mechanism. The minute someone tampers with it…” He shoved his hands in his pockets and began to pace. “So we can’t open the barrels more than once. Which means…oh. Oh no.” He whirled, and paced back toward Rey. “I’ve opened all of them! That means they must have all locked themselves! There’s only one way…Rey. I’ve got to get back to the TARDIS.”

She stared at him. “What?”

“I can get a new sonic screwdriver. Oh, but that takes more than fifteen minutes!” He closed his eyes and leaned up against the wall. “And that’s ten minutes now. We went and wasted five minutes just now. Thousands of people!” He grimaced. “The history of the revolution, changed with the press of a button!” 

Something bumped up against Rey’s legs and she looked down. “Doctor?”

His eyes snapped open. “What?”

“BB8…”

“BB8!” His eyes widened, and he stared at the droid. “BB8! What are you doing here?”

It tilted its head back and let out a series of beeps that sounded about as close to a string of curses as the pleasant little droid could get. It rolled forward, and bumped against the Doctor’s let with a scolding beep, and drew back. If it could have lowered its eyebrows and glared at him, it would have.

“Oh.” He dropped to his knees and patted the little droid on the head. “Oh, I am sorry.” He looked at Rey. “He’s saying…”

She nodded. “I know. You sent him to the TARDIS and he couldn’t get in, so he’s been wandering the city ever since, trying to find us.” She crossed her arms. “Why did you do that?”

“The people here…they wouldn’t understand him. I thought…” His voice trailed off under her stare, and he looked away. “I thought he could wait for us…”

“Never mind.” She glanced between the barrel and the droid, and back at the barrel. A slow grin spread across her face. “Doctor.” She could barely hold back the excitement in her voice. “Doctor, we have the solution!”

He looked at her. “What’s that?”

“BB8!” She looked down at the little droid, and back at the Doctor. “Don’t you see? BB8!” She leaned down, and turned the little droid’s head toward her. “BB8,” she said, “can you open this barrel?”

Its head moved up and down, and it bumped toward the barrel. A little drill appeared from its side and soon there was a small hole in the side of the barrel. It looked up at Rey with a happy beep.

“No, no, no! That’s not going to do us any good! No, we need you to _open_ it.” She nudged the droid with her foot. “Open the barrel, BB8.”

It shook its head back and forth, and a little metal rod appeared from its side. It let out a series of beeps and looked up at Rey as if asking for her approval. Her eyes widened, and she stared at the Doctor.

“Did you get that?” Her voice wavered, and laughter bubbled out between her words. “Doctor! He says he can draw the charge from the battery!”

“I know!” He grabbed her hand and squeezed it, and then she had thrown her arms around his neck. For a moment, all they did was laugh, and hug. 

“He did it!” Rey cried. “He saved everyone!”

“Ah…not yet.” The Doctor turned to BB8, and nodded. “Go on. Do it!”

It inserted the little metal rod into the barrel, and a charge like lighting shivered up it and into the body of the droid. A shudder ran through it, and it bumped backwards with a little, surprised beep. It shook itself, and looked up at Rey and the Doctor, its head titled to the side.

“Oh, that is _wonderful_! That’s absolutely _brilliant!_ ” A grin burst across the Doctor’s face. “It’ll be nine minutes now, and seven barrels. Start with the barrels around the back of the building, those’ll be the easiest to get to. Go, go, go!”

BB8 started down the alley with a happy screech, and they followed him, breaking into a run from the sheer joy of it. They were going to save the world with nothing but a little, round droid! Rey let herself giggle, and then laugh. How could she ever have imagined?

They wove around through back alleys, the little droid looking to the Doctor for direction at every corner. The noise of the crowd grew louder and louder and soon they saw the meeting house again, rising into the morning sky. The clamor of the people seemed to fill the entire city and it nearly knocked Rey backwards. She stuck her fingers in her ears and squeezed her eyes shut. Is this what _crowds_ were like? All this horrible, horrible _noise_? 

A hand set down on her shoulder, and she started, and grabbed for her staff. The Doctor grinned, and she thought he was trying to say something, but it was lost in the shouting of the crowd. He nodded, and put his hands over his ears. He motioned to a barrel nearby, hidden in the shadows. BB8 was just pulling the metal rod from the little hole. He fell backwards, and his head drooped a bit. 

Rey took a deep breath, and focused her mind on the task in front of her _._ Right. At least she could hear her own thoughts. She stuck her fingers in her ears again, and tried to shout something to the Doctor. She wasn’t sure if it came out or not, but he nodded, and they started around the back of the building. The noise of the crowd was slightly more muffled here, and she let out a little sigh of relief.

BB8 bumped against a barrel, and the Doctor nodded. The little metal rod protruded again, and he shoved it in between the cracks of the wood. A white-hot charge shot up and into the body of the droid, and it shuddered, and its head drooped. It bumped backwards a few feet, and let out a long, sad beep.

“Come on!” She could barely hear her own voice as she spoke, but she said it anyway. Maybe she was saying it to herself. She didn’t know. “We’ve only got four more! You’ve got to keep going!”

A cloudlike consciousness pressed itself onto her mind, and she tensed. She glanced at the Doctor, and their eyes met.

They ran. They dashed around the front of the meeting house, and threw themselves into the crowd. People were everywhere, pushing, shouting, arguing. The noise throbbed in her mind and washed over her like a wave. Bodies pressed into her from all sides, and a scream lodged itself in her throat. 

A tall figure loomed up before her, steely grey eyes meeting hers with horrible, menacing recognition. She let out a little shriek and threw herself backwards, worming through layer upon layer of people, her eyes darting back and forth for the familiar figure. She clenched her fists and tried not to scream. Where was the Doctor? _Where was the Doctor_?

She had to get to the back of the meeting house. She had to get of this crowd. Four more barrels. She squeezed her eyes shut and forced the pounding cacophony of voices and shouting and _everyone was touching her_ from her mind. Barrels. Doctor. BB8.

Her eyes popped open and she shoved her way through the crowd. She clenched her fists and focused her mind on one thing. The barrel. The next barrel. She had to find it before the printer did. 

The voices of the crowd roared in her ears until she thought her head would explode. She looked up and focused her eyes on the steeple, the still, calm steeple, shooting up into the morning sky. She glanced back down, and her eyes fixed on a barrel, tucked into a little corner. She thought she saw a flash of orange…

She took a deep breath and threw herself toward it. A thousand bodies seemed to swallow her up, and she thought she would melt in the heat of them. She shoved her way past men, women, children, people, people, people….

She fell against the wall of an alley and slid to the ground. The clamor of the crowd still filled her ears but the people no longer surrounded her. A barrel sat nearby, and she edged closer. Her eyes fell on a small, perfect hole drilled in the side….

Good. They’d already gotten this one. Three more barrels. She jumped to her feet and dashed around the back. No, they’d already gotten that one. Maybe just around the corner….

She skidded around the corner and nearly ran right into the Doctor and BB8. BB8 was just shoving his metal rod into the barrel, and his head wobbled forward. The charge sizzled up the rod, and he fell backward, and sat still. 

She glanced at the Doctor. “What—what’s wrong?”

“I don’t know.” His words tumbled over each other and he slipped his glasses on, and dropped to his knees. “He’s been getting weaker and weaker.” He patted the droid on the head. “Come on, BB8. You can do this! Just two more barrels!”

Its head lifted, and it looked at the Doctor with a sad beep. 

“I think he’s dying,” she said.

“No, no, no! He’s not dying! We can fix him! Come on, BB8, come on!” The little droid bumped a few feet forward, and rolled to a stop. It lifted its head toward Rey, and it drooped forward again. It let out a few slow beeps, and drew the metal rod slowly, haltingly back in. 

The Doctor leaned down, and wrapped his arms around the droid. “Come on, little buddy! Oof, you’re heavy. Don’t wiggle. Seriously. Please don’t wiggle.” He stumbled backwards, the little droid in his arms. He shoved BB8 under his coat and started forward. “Alright! Allons-y! And…I can’t carry this droid much further.” His voice sounded squeaky. “I’m going to drop him.”

BB8 rested his head on the Doctor’s shoulder, and wiggled into a different position in his arms. The Doctor sighed. “Ah, that’s a bit better. Thanks.” He started forward. “Two more.” He jerked his head toward the crowd. “But we have to get through _there_ first.”

Rey took a deep breath, and squared her shoulders. “Alright. Let’s go.” She looked at the Doctor, and stifled a little giggle. “You’re a bit conspicuous.”

He looked down at the large bulge in his coat and chuckled. “Well…”

Rey started forward. “Well, come on. Let’s get this over with.”

A familiar white light flashed behind her, and she glanced at the Doctor. He squeezed his arms around the droid, and they ran. They flew down the alley and threw themselves into the shouting crowd. Once again, the cacophony of voices surrounded her, and carried her away in its wave. She reached for the Doctor’s coat, and hung on.

They pushed their way through the people, and Rey squeezed her eyes shut and gripped his coat as hard as she could. Was it just her, or did it seem that the crowd was quieting down a bit? Even if it _was_ just her imagination, the relief was certainly welcome. 

Her eyes popped open and she tensed. A tall man with a long grey ponytail and swirling dark eyes rose up in front of her. Her hand flew for her staff. 

She grimaced. Would she _ever_ stop doing that? She glanced at the Doctor, and saw that he kept a firm grip on BB8. She met the man’s eyes, and balled her fists.

She aimed a solid punch at the man’s nose. He fell backward, gripping at his face, and she shoved her way past him, through the people who were now giving them strange looks. 

The crowd was _definitely_ quieting down now.

Something was about to happen. Was the meeting about to start? 

The meeting was about to start!

She turned to the Doctor, and their eyes met. The horrible realization spread across his face, and together they threw themselves forward.

The faces of the crowd blurred together as she shoved her way through them, one hand firmly on the Doctor’s coat. The Doctor turned, and mouthed something—or was he shouting something? She nodded, and hoped he didn’t quiz her on it. 

She squeezed her eyes shut again and focused her mind on the last two barrels. The cacophony of voices faded away, and her hand tightened on the Doctor’s coat. Was she just shutting them out, or was that the cloudlike consciousness she had felt before?

Whatever it was, she was glad of the relief.

The Doctor tapped her on the shoulder and she opened her eyes. They stood at the edge of the crowd, which had grown considerably quiet in the last—how much time had passed? Five minutes? Ten minutes? She winced and shook her head. Never mind that. What was the Doctor saying?

“…barrel. Right there.” She turned to see him setting the little droid on the ground by a nearby barrel. He leaned against it, crossed his arms, and tried to look nonchalant. 

Right. She supposed the crowd didn’t need to see this.

Slowly, painfully, the metal rod appeared again. It ground into the wood of the barrel, shivering, and the little droid’s head drooped forward. A shock ran through its body, and it let out a low beep, and stood still.

The Doctor dropped to a crouch, and peered into the droid’s eye.

“He’s dead,” said Rey. She dropped to her knees and put her hand on its head. “He’s taken too many charges. We shouldn’t have—”

The Doctor looked down, and his eyes were dark. He reached down, and scooped up the still droid. Its head flopped forward until it nearly fell off. The Doctor threw his coat over it, and together, they made their way slowly down the alley and around a corner.

The Doctor set the droid down, and tucked it into a nearby corner. He patted it on the head. “Listen, we’re coming back for you,” he said. “We’ll give you a proper…”

His voice trailed off, and he looked around. A flash of light, and a man materialized behind them, and another, and another, until finally, five men surrounded them. 

The leader stepped forward, sneering. “You are nearly as stupid as the humans,” he said. “One vaporizer will not have quite the effect we planned, but it will be enough.” He turned to the others, and drew a remote from his pocket. His finger hovered over the button. “Don’t kill them,” he said. “Yet.” Rey stood frozen, her eyes fixed on his finger as it drew closer to the button. 

“Make them watch,” he said. 


	11. Chapter 11

_The vaporizer. Remember it. The one the Doctor…._

Tom’s voice played in an endless loop over and over in her mind. He had been trying to tell her something. 

_The vaporizer._

_Vaporizer._

Her eyes widened and she let out a little gasp. The man paused, his finger just touching the button, and his eyes flickered toward her, just for a moment. 

That was all she needed. She lunged forward and rammed her head into the man’s stomach. He fell backward. She grabbed his wrist and twisted his arm behind him until his fingers released the remote of their own accord.

She ground her foot into it and met his eyes. She heard a snap beneath her foot and kicked the broken pieces away. Rage flared across his face, and his form flickered to nothingness. She took a deep breath, and ran.

She flew down the alley and around another corner. The first barrel. The one the Doctor had opened. She closed her eyes and imagined the city from above, the streets spreading out before her like a map. She felt the walls pass by on either side of her and turned a corner, and another one. The noise of the crowd grew louder and louder, and she opened her eyes and looked around.

Not quite.

She took off down a side alley. Her breath came in short gasps, and her feet pounded hard against the cobblestones. She thought she heard the sound of running feet behind her, and she turned another corner, and another. 

She closed her eyes again, and let her memory guide her.

She had come from the printing shop. Down the main street, and through a few alleyways. The noise of the crowd swelled, and died away, as if cheering for some especially well-spoken speech. Still she ran. One single voice rose above the crowd, and still she ran. She had run down the main street, empty then, and swerved into an alley. And there they had run right into…

Her eyes popped open and she skidded to a stop. She stood to the side of the meeting house, and the crowd spread out before her. A single barrel stood at her feet, and around the corner, she thought she saw…

Yes! She dove around the corner and snatched up the vaporizer, which lay fallen on the cobblestones. A figure skidded around the corner, and she whirled to see the Doctor.

He looked at the vaporizer, and back to her. A grin spread over his face, and he laughed.

“Oh yes!” he cried. “Oh, _yes_!” 

She felt a grin tugging at the corners of her lips. She nodded, hugging the vaporizer and nearly jumping up and down.

“We did it!” she cried. “Oh, we did it!”

A shadow loomed around the corner, and she shoved the vaporizer into the Doctor’s arm. “You’ve got a coat,” she hissed. “Hide it.” He shoved it under his coat, and they looked at each other, and their eyes met. They joined hands, and took off down the alley and into the crowd.

“Sorry—terribly sorry.” The Doctor pushed his way through the people, still now, and listening to a single man speak. “Terribly important. If you’ll just let us through—sorry. Sorry about that. You’ll thank us. Or maybe you won’t. In fact, you probably won’t know we were here. But that’s best! You aren’t ready for it yet. Sorry.” 

A man put his fingers to his lips and pulled the Doctor to a stop. He glanced around, and jerked his hand from the man’s. “Sorry,” he said again. “Bit of a hurry, if you’ll just excuse me…”

His voice faded into the background, and Rey tensed. A cloudlike consciousness pressed itself against her mind. 

She pulled back and forced her way forward. They wouldn’t dare show themselves in the crowd—not with that flash of light they made when they materialized. Oh—they were probably reading her thoughts. The foglike bubble seemed to hug her, and cling to her. He was following her!

She looked at the Doctor. _Run,_ she mouthed, and took off through the crowd. She shoved her way past person after person, and felt herself tear through the edge of the bubble that surrounded her. 

“Please—just let me past! It’s important.” She shoved a middle-aged woman out of the way, and nudged a little boy with her foot. The consciousness rubbed against her mind again, and she tried to run. “Please—I need past. Please!”

The people thinned, and she wove through them, faster, faster, faster, her body tense and her eyes searching for the clearest path through the crowd. A wall rose up in front of her, and she skidded to a stop. The Doctor popped out of the crowd, and their eyes met.

He nodded, and squeezed his coat. She sighed, and shrugged. He motioned his head toward the next house over, and she started down the alley. They flew around a corner, and skidded to a stop, a single barrel sitting, its face pointed toward the crowd. 

They looked at each other, and grinned. 

A white light flashed behind her, and another, and another. Five figures surrounded them, each holding a remote. 

Their eyes met. The Doctor held up his hands and Rey shrugged.

“You are lying.” The leader stepped forward. “You are not innocent. We have chased you through streets and through alleys. You are not innocent.”

“You’re right!” The Doctor stepped forward, his hands in the air. “We’ve done something. But you know what? One of your men has pressed the button.” He jerked his head toward the nearest man, standing, his finger on the button of his remote. “Oh, you thought you were smart, didn’t you? You thought, since we were in the way of the barrel, you’d just vaporize us and go about your business. But you know what? We’re not in the way of the barrel.” He tilted his head toward the barrel. “Something else is.”

As one, five heads turned toward the barrel, and five men started forward. The leader whirled, and yanked his gun from his belt. 

The Doctor shrugged apologetically. “It’s already getting ready to detonate. And I’m sorry, I’m so, so, sorry, but I’m afraid you’ve just lost your last two vaporizers.”

The man turned. 

A wavering cloud shot from the barrel, and another from the shadows of a corner, where the grey outline of the other vaporizer could be seen, pointed at the barrel. The two clouds met, and a blinding flash filled the alley. Rey squeezed her eyes shut. 

She heard the sound of feet pounding against the cobblestones, and a cry, wavering, dying. She opened her eyes carefully, and stared, frozen, as the forms of five men turned to mist, which curled, and floated away into the sky. The barrel and the vaporizer collapsed, spitting out cloud after cloud toward each other. Bit by bit, they disintegrated, and whirled away in a breeze.

Rey let out a sigh, and leaned back against the wall. “We did it.” Her breath came in short gasps, and her eyes were wide. “We finally did it.”

* * *

The firelight flickered on the faces of Mr. and Mrs. Lancaster as Rey set Tom’s gloves gently on the woman’s lap. She lowered her eyes, and she laid her hand in the older woman’s.

“I’m sorry,” she said, and her voice was low. “I—I’m so sorry.”

Mr. Lancaster approached, his hat pulled low over his face, the newspaper tucked into the crook of his arm. Rey jumped to her feet, and snatched it from him. 

“Mr. Lancaster.” She ripped the newspaper down the middle, and met his eyes with tearful determination. “Listen to me. No matter what you thought of him, no matter how many times you fought with him, your son was—is—and always will be—a true hero.” Tears stung her eyes, and she met his cold gaze. “And he loved you. And he wanted—” She trailed off, and swallowed hard. “He wanted nothing more than for you to love him.” She fought back the tears in her voice. “And he wouldn’t—he wouldn’t want you to call him that. A hero, I mean. But please—please remember him as one.” She stood straighter. “Remember that he…that I’m alive now, because of him.” Her voice caught, and she slumped into the chair beside Mrs. Lancaster. “And I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Mrs. Lancaster’s arm went around her shoulders, and before she could stop herself, she was in the older woman’s arms, her head resting on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry.” She blinked back tears as sobs caught at her throat. “I should be the one comforting you. I should—”

But the woman’s arms tightened around her, and she let herself collapse into them, let the tears come, and wet the shoulders of her dress. 

Mr. Lancaster stepped silent to their side, and his hand came to rest on his wife’s. And together they stood, staring into the fire.

* * *

“There we go. Good as new!” The Doctor slipped his new sonic screwdriver back into his pocket and set the little droid on the floor of the TARDIS. It rolled around for a moment, moved its head back and forth, and looked up at him with a happy beep.

Rey smiled, and reached down to pat its head. It bumped against her ankles and looked up at her with a little beep. “You know, BB8,” she said, “you saved the world.”

If the little droid could have blushed, it would have.

She stopped for a moment, her hand resting on the door. “All these people,” she said softly, looking out into the bustling street. “Fighting desperately for something they have such a small chance of winning.” She turned to the Doctor, and there was longing in her eyes. “Do they win, Doctor? Do the rebels win?”

He stepped to her side, and smiled. “Yes,” he said. “They win. Seven years of hard-fought battles, clinging to a thread of hope, just one little thread. And they win.”

“I’m glad.” She turned from the street, and stepped inside, closing the doors behind her. “I’m glad they win.”

The Doctor grinned, and bounded to the console. “Soo…what now? The future? Another planet? The past?”

She met his eyes, and they just stared at each other for a long, silent moment. His hand fell to his side, and the grin dropped from his face. “Oh,” he said. “You’re not—well. I guess I can get you back. If the throughway’s still open, I can probably—”

“No.” She stepped to his side. “I’m coming with you.” She looked away, and a wistful smile curled around her lips. “Tom—Tom died so I could travel the stars.” She allowed herself to laugh a little, and rested her hand on his. “Come on then,” she said. “Allons-y?” 

* * *

_The End._

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I am fully aware of the fact that I just dropped the protagonist of a British show into the middle of the revolutionary war. I regret nothing. ;)


End file.
